Prostate cancer survival rates improve
While more men are being diagnosed with prostate cancer, survival rates are high and are improving, a new report has revealed.
While more men are being diagnosed with prostate cancer, survival rates are high and are improving, a new report has revealed.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report, Prostate cancer in Australia, is described as the ‘first ever’ comprehensive national report on this topic.
It shows that prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer), with over 21,800 new cases diagnosed in 2009.
The annual rate of new cases of prostate cancer rose from 79 per 100,000 males in 1982 to 194 per 100,000 in 2009.
The number of cases of prostate cancer diagnosed is expected to increase, reaching 25,000 new cases per year in 2020. This is due to increases in the number of men presenting for testing, changes in diagnostic practices and also the ageing of the population.
Although the incidence of prostate cancer has risen, mortality and survival have improved.
There were 3,294 deaths from prostate cancer recorded in 2011, making it the fourth leading cause of death among Australian men, behind coronary heart diseases, lung cancer and cerebrovascular diseases.
Prostate cancer mortality rates have fallen, from 34 deaths per 100,000 males to 31 deaths per 100,000 between 1982 and 2011.
This drop is projected to continue, expected to fall to 26 deaths per 100,000 males in 2020.
In 2006-2010, the proportion of males who had survived five years after a prostate cancer diagnosis (92%) was higher than for all cancers among males (65%), as well as other leading cancers among males, including melanoma of the skin (89%) and lung cancer (13%).
The proportion of males with prostate cancer who survived five years after diagnosis is high and has improved from 59% to 90% between 1986 and 2007.
